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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: trunk · race · leaves · nail · wave · tube · degree · cold

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. tube — the underground
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tube — a container
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — not warm
  21. degree — an amount
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. race — humankind

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