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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stem — to come from
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — to paddle
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. roll — a cake
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bore — to tire
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. arm — part of the body

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