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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. key — the most important part
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. press — newspapers
  10. march — music
  11. key — in music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. press — to push
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wax — to grow
  24. key — for a lock

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