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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — wild animals
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stem — to come from
  8. board — a committee
  9. branch — a division
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. spell — magic
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. dip — to sink
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. spell — letters
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. spell — a short time
  23. game — a match
  24. trunk — of a tree

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