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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: trunk · snap · pass · degree · land · rock · file · cap

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. snap — to click
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — from a university
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cap — of ice
  8. land — a country
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. rock — music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cap — a lid
  14. file — a document
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rock — a stone
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cap — a hat
  23. file — a tool
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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