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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: bark · degree · race · leaves · net · deal · root · roll

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. net — for catching
  3. race — the arms race
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. race — humankind
  6. roll — a cake
  7. deal — to handle
  8. roll — a list
  9. net — after costs
  10. root — of a plant
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. race — a contest
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. root — of a word
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. degree — from a university
  18. net — in sport
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. root — the cause
  24. bark — of a tree

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