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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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. suit — to fit
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. club — for dancing
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. land — a country
  12. band — a ring
  13. land — to come down
  14. band — a music group
  15. suit — in cards
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — a group
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. club — for golf
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. band — a rubber band

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