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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. roll — a cake
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. row — to paddle
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. roll — a list
  14. scale — size or range
  15. board — a committee
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. scale — in music
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. row — a line

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