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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: pitch · stem · degree · trunk · mark · pit · mate · last

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mark — a trace
  4. last — final
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pit — a hole
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pit — in a race
  18. degree — an amount
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mark — a grade
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pitch — completely

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