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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. shower — rain
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rush — hurry
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. sharp — clever
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — the animal
  17. content — the amount
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chair — a leader
  21. content — happy
  22. stem — to come from
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. chair — a professorship

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