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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ball — a dance
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bank — for money
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stem — to come from
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. hand — help
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bank — for money
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bank — of a river
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stem — a stem cell

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