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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tube — a container
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. snap — to click
  6. rest — a break
  7. content — happy
  8. season — in sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — an amount
  11. season — of the year
  12. content — the amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. mark — a trace
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — what's left
  19. degree — from a university
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mark — a grade
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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