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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: bass · snap · root · file · degree · last · court · rest

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. court — for sport
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. file — a tool
  14. court — of law
  15. degree — from a university
  16. file — a document
  17. snap — to click
  18. last — to go on
  19. court — of a king
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bass — low music
  24. degree — temperature

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