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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: degree · root · deal · mouse · leaves · drill · clip · file

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. root — of a plant
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. file — a document
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. drill — a practice
  12. clip — a video
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. root — of a word
  20. drill — army training
  21. root — the cause
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. clip — for paper

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