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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. charge — a price
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — humankind
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. charge — in control
  12. row — a line
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — a leader
  18. charge — electricity
  19. snap — to click
  20. race — the arms race
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chair — to sit on

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