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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. press — a publisher
  16. row — a line
  17. bulb — for light
  18. press — to push
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. press — newspapers
  24. row — a quarrel

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