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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: land · bear · content · scale · object · mark · trunk · degree

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. land — ground
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — a country
  5. scale — in music
  6. bear — the animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. content — the amount
  9. mark — a grade
  10. degree — temperature
  11. land — to come down
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. content — happy
  18. object — to protest
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. scale — size or range

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