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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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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. spell — magic
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bank — for money
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a music group
  7. chip — for betting
  8. band — a ring
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spell — a short time
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — for money
  18. root — of a word
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. root — the cause
  24. chip — to eat

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