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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — in cards
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — child
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. calf — of the leg

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