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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 124 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. charge — in control
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chip — to eat
  12. charge — a price
  13. bat — the animal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — child
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chip — for betting
  23. stem — to come from
  24. key — in music

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