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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — an amount
  4. drill — army training
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bound — tied together
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. drill — a practice
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. degree — temperature

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