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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cold — not warm
  24. scale — size or range

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