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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · hide · date · trunk · bat · stand · club · spell

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. 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. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. club — for golf
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — a group
  7. spell — letters
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. club — for dancing
  10. degree — temperature
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. spell — magic
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stand — to bear
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. 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