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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 · deal · last · leaves · racket · degree · bowl · wake

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. last — finally
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. degree — temperature
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. deal — to handle
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — to go on
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. last — final
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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