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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: root · degree · pitch · shower · rule · branch · land · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. degree — from a university
  4. root — the cause
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. root — of a plant
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pitch — completely
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. root — of a word
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. shower — rain
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rule — government
  21. land — a country
  22. rule — a law
  23. degree — temperature
  24. land — ground

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