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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 · mark · land · nail · content · stem · wave · trunk

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. content — the amount
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. land — a country
  12. stem — to come from
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. land — to come down
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mark — a trace

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