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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. suit — to fit
  6. key — for a lock
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. suit — clothes
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. suit — in cards
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — the animal
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cell — a phone

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