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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — an amount
  5. object — to protest
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. object — an aim
  8. root — of a word
  9. content — happy
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. track — to keep track
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. content — the amount
  17. root — the cause
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. object — a thing

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