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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. file — a line of people
  4. spring — a coil
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — to come from
  7. file — a tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — of water
  12. capital — a city
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. plane — a tool
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. spring — the season
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fan — a supporter

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