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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. stem — to come from
  7. tube — a container
  8. kick — in football
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. net — after costs
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. net — for catching
  22. rush — hurry
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. net — in sport

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