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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tube — the underground
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fork — in a road
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. field — for sport
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. field — a subject
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. snap — to click
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. kick — in football

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