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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — an amount
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. degree — temperature
  12. race — humankind
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wound — an injury
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. prune — to trim

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