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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. key — the most important part
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. key — in music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pit — in a race
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pit — a hole

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