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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mate — a partner
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. degree — an amount
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mate — to breed
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. calf — a young animal

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