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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: patient · cell · bulb · race · trunk · degree · rest · craft

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — temperature
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. degree — from a university
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. race — humankind
  14. rest — what's left
  15. craft — boats
  16. rest — a break
  17. bulb — for light
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. craft — a skill
  21. rest — what's left
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. race — a contest

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