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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. pit — a hole
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. season — of the year
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bulb — for light
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — help
  14. pit — in a race
  15. degree — from a university
  16. perch — the fish
  17. hand — in cards
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — for light
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. bulb — of a plant

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