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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bear — the 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