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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mark — a grade
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rash — a series
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. court — of a king
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  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