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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 · mine · stem · fork · face · ball · trunk · lean

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mine — for digging
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. face — to confront
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lean — to bend
  19. face — to point toward
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. lean — thin
  24. fork — in a road

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