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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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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: trunk · march · bat · rest · degree · stem · stand · staff

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — temperature
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. staff — employees
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — a break
  19. march — the month
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. staff — employees
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stand — to bear

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