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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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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: chest · wax · stem · file · safe · trunk · pitch · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wax — to grow
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. stem — to come from
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. file — a document

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