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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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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: mate · calf · safe · root · trunk · degree · season · cell

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. season — of the year
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. root — the cause
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. season — in sport
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — temperature
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mate — to breed
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. mate — a friend
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cell — in biology
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. root — of a word
  24. trunk — of a tree

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