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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: saw · degree · toast · stem · snap · hand · trunk · cell

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — help
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. degree — from a university
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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