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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. key — in music
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. spring — of water
  5. key — the most important part
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. spring — the season

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