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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. degree — an amount
  8. capital — money
  9. club — for golf
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a city
  17. club — a group
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cue — a signal
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. club — for dancing
  23. spring — the season
  24. degree — temperature

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