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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. row — a line
  16. craft — boats
  17. spell — magic
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. spell — letters
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. craft — a skill

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