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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. degree — temperature
  4. stem — to come from
  5. degree — from a university
  6. land — to come down
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bass — the fish
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — happy
  12. shower — rain
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. land — ground
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — low music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. leaves — lets stay

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