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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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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: land · degree · bound · sharp · trunk · stem · wake · bay

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. land — to come down
  9. degree — temperature
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. land — ground
  14. wake — a trail
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. degree — an amount
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bound — certain
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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