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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: date · pop · march · degree · cell · trunk · wake · stand

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — in biology
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stand — to bear
  8. pop — to visit
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — from a university
  13. march — the month
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. march — music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. march — the month
  19. wake — a trail
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pop — soda
  23. cell — a phone
  24. degree — temperature

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