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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: scale · calf · ground · nail · mine · degree · root · branch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ground — crushed
  3. root — of a word
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. scale — in music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ground — a position
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. branch — a division
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. root — the cause
  19. scale — size or range
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. nail — for a hammer

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