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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. season — of the year
  8. pass — a permit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. content — the amount
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. chest — a box
  16. season — in sport
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. content — happy
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. content — videos and posts

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