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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chest — a box
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — a country
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. ground — a position
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. lie — to recline
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stem — to come from
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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