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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: degree · straw · cell · stick · trunk · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — a phone
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. race — a contest
  18. trunk — of a car

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