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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. leaves — lets stay
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. staff — employees
  6. row — a line
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. staff — a stick
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — a hole
  13. craft — boats
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. stem — to come from
  18. staff — employees
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  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