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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: chest · trunk · degree · mate · tear · wave · straw · bank

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. tear — from crying
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chest — a box
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mate — a partner
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — temperature

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