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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bass — low music
  12. roll — a cake
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. kid — to tease
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — to cut
  20. roll — a list
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. stand — on your feet

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