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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — a law
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mug — a face
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. degree — temperature
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cell — a phone
  18. lean — thin
  19. mug — a cup
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lean — to bend
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cell — in biology

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