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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: row · mark · foot · season · cabinet · degree · trunk · last

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. last — final
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mark — a trace
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. row — a line
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — temperature
  11. foot — a measure
  12. row — to paddle
  13. degree — an amount
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. season — in sport
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. season — to add flavour

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