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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
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: ground · cold · root · degree · wave · nail · branch · net

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. degree — temperature
  3. root — of a word
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — crushed
  9. degree — an amount
  10. root — the cause
  11. branch — a division
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — for catching
  20. degree — from a university
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. net — after costs
  23. ground — a position
  24. net — in sport

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