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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. row — a line
  11. mate — a partner
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cap — a hat
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mate — to breed
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fan — to cool the air

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