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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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — finally
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cap — of ice
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cap — a hat
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. last — final
  19. stem — to come from
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. trunk — of a car

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