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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.

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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: pass · leaves · tear · fork · root · degree · coach · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fork — in a road
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a document
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — the cause
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pass — a permit
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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