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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — an illness
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bank — of a river
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mine — for digging
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bank — for money
  16. pop — music
  17. content — happy
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — soda
  23. content — the amount
  24. pop — to visit

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