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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 116 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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rock — music
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. race — a contest
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rock — a stone
  13. race — humankind
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. race — the arms race
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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