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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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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: fine · fork · stem · degree · roll · net · root · rush

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. net — in sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. degree — temperature
  8. roll — a list
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. degree — from a university
  11. net — for catching
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. root — the cause
  21. fork — in a road
  22. net — after costs
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. stem — a stem cell

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