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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cell — a phone
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pit — a hole
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chest — a box
  9. plane — a tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. hand — help
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spring — the season
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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