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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. row — a line
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — wild animals
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. game — a match
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. court — for sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rest — a break

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