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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wound — an injury
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lean — thin
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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