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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 120 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
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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: track · degree · mine · chest · root · file · fork · bass

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. file — a document
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. file — a tool
  6. bass — the fish
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chest — of your body
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bass — low music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. track — a song
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. root — of a word
  20. chest — a box
  21. fork — in a road
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. root — the cause

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