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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. land — ground
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bulb — for light
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. march — music
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cap — of ice
  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