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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. kid — to tease
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — child
  13. craft — a skill
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. shower — to wash
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. craft — boats
  21. shower — rain
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. calf — a young animal

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