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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · trunk · degree · lash · lean · spring

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. 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. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — the season
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. spring — of water
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lean — to bend
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. 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