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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 116 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: rest · stem · degree · trunk · wake · bowl · field · kid

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. field — farmland
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kid — child
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. field — a subject
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. degree — from a university
  19. kid — to tease
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. field — for sport
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. trunk — of a car

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