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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: degree · mate · trunk · spring · game · object · stem · bore

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bore — to drill
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spring — the season
  8. object — an aim
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — a partner
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bore — to tire
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — of water
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. object — a thing
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. game — a match

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