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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. spring — of water
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — to wash
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. ball — a great time
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cap — a lid
  21. shower — rain
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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