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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. court — of a king
  4. cap — of ice
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — of law
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tube — the underground
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. swing — music
  11. tube — a container
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cap — a hat
  15. swing — to play on
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cap — a lid
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — from a university

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