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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. perch — the fish
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. game — wild animals
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. saw — the tool
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. game — a match
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — in a tire

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