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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — from a university
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stem — to come from
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. stem — 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