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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: degree · file · fall · rash · root · date · snap · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rash — hasty
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rash — a series
  5. fall — the season
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. root — of a word
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — to drop
  10. root — the cause
  11. date — the fruit
  12. file — a tool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — temperature
  19. file — a document
  20. root — of a plant
  21. degree — from a university
  22. snap — to click
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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