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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. shower — to wash
  4. track — to keep track
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fine — all right
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — wild animals
  14. ground — the earth
  15. track — a song
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ground — crushed
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fine — high quality
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ground — a position
  24. track — a path

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