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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. lean — to bend
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. degree — temperature
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lean — thin
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rest — a break
  14. pop — music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. degree — from a university
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rest — what's left
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cell — in biology
  23. deal — an agreement
  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