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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tear — from crying
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. tear — to rip
  11. net — in sport
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — after costs
  17. root — the cause
  18. net — for catching
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. root — of a word
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. root — of a plant

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