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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: staff · cell · trunk · wave · degree · drill

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. drill — army training
  3. degree — an amount
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. drill — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. drill — a practice
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — from a university
  13. staff — employees
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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