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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. stem — to come from
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. degree — temperature
  5. net — for catching
  6. roll — a list
  7. net — after costs
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. current — electric
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. rush — hurry
  17. net — in sport
  18. current — of water
  19. degree — from a university
  20. current — happening now
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. roll — a cake

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