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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. land — a country
  3. pit — a hole
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. land — ground
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. plane — a tool
  15. snap — to click
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. land — to come down
  18. stem — to come from
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pit — in a race
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. straw — a straw man

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