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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 120 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cap — a lid
  5. court — of law
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — rain
  8. bank — for money
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bank — for money
  17. cap — a hat
  18. band — a ring
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cap — of ice
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bank — of a river
  24. band — a music group

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