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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. face — to point toward
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. face — to confront
  7. clip — a video
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. face — part of the head
  10. court — of a king
  11. stem — to come from
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — to cut
  16. court — for sport
  17. lean — to bend
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — thin
  21. kid — child
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. court — of law

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