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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stem — to come from
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cell — in a prison

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