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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 120 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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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: mark · degree · track · content · snap · leaves · stick · trunk

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. degree — an amount
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. track — a path
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. mark — a grade
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to click
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. content — the amount
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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