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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: file · rock · rule · track · root · ground · degree · trunk

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. track — a song
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rule — a law
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rock — a stone
  11. degree — temperature
  12. file — a document
  13. track — a path
  14. ground — the earth
  15. root — the cause
  16. rock — music
  17. track — to keep track
  18. file — a tool
  19. ground — crushed
  20. root — of a plant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. root — of a word
  23. degree — an amount
  24. trunk — of a car

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