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

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — a break
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stem — to come from
  11. last — to go on
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. last — finally
  18. spring — the season
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mine — for digging
  22. last — final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. prune — to trim

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