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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. row — a line
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bass — the fish
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. fork — in a road
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — low music
  12. march — music
  13. face — to confront
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. march — the month
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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