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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — a contest
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. season — of the year
  15. degree — from a university
  16. race — humankind
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. season — in sport
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — to grow

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