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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · file · root · last · degree · calf · mouse · racket

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. file — a document
  3. degree — from a university
  4. land — ground
  5. file — a line of people
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a tool
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. root — of a word
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. root — the cause
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. root — of a plant
  20. land — a country
  21. last — final
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com