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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. plane — a tool
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — to cut
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ruler — a monarch

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