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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. ball — a dance
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. field — for sport
  7. ball — a great time
  8. chest — a box
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — a subject
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. degree — an amount
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kick — in football
  20. chest — of your body
  21. field — farmland
  22. deal — to handle
  23. degree — from a university
  24. toast — bread

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