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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — a skill
  4. stem — to come from
  5. root — of a word
  6. lean — to bend
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. root — the cause
  10. club — a group
  11. craft — boats
  12. root — of a plant
  13. lean — thin
  14. club — for golf
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. degree — temperature
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. branch — a division
  24. lean — to rest against

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