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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 120 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: wake · cap · trunk · present · rule · land · degree · nail

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. land — to come down
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wake — a trail
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rule — government
  14. degree — an amount
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — a country
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. present — the time now
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rule — a law
  23. cap — a lid
  24. nail — for a hammer

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