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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 116 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. stem — to come from
  6. land — a country
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. land — to come down
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bear — the animal
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stem — a stem cell

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