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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. charge — a price
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. charge — electricity
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wax — to grow
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. charge — in control
  22. lie — to recline
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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