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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 120 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chip — to eat
  3. track — a path
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. object — a thing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. track — to keep track
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. degree — temperature
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. object — to protest
  17. drill — army training
  18. track — a song
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. object — an aim
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. kid — child
  24. degree — an amount

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