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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: deal · plane · fork · degree · root · board · cold · land

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. land — ground
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fork — in a road
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — to come down
  10. board — a committee
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. board — to get on
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — temperature
  18. plane — a tool
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — an illness
  21. root — of a plant
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. land — a country
  24. deal — to handle

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