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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: plane · rest · mine · root · degree · staff · trunk · tear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. root — of a plant
  3. mine — for digging
  4. degree — temperature
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. staff — a stick
  7. degree — from a university
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. staff — employees
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — from crying
  21. plane — a tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. tear — to rip
  24. plane — an aircraft

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