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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: calf · trunk · field · squash · coach · degree · can · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. can — a tin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. can — a tin
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — the sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — for sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. degree — temperature
  13. squash — to crush
  14. can — to be able to
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. calf — a young animal

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