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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stock — goods
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. net — in sport
  14. mark — a grade
  15. degree — an amount
  16. net — after costs
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. net — for catching
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. stock — shares
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mark — a trace

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