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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bass — the fish
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. squash — the sport
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bass — low music
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wax — to grow

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