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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. chair — a leader
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. degree — from a university
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. season — of the year
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rash — a series

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