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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bank — for money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cold — not warm
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — a position
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tear — to rip
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bank — for money
  22. ground — crushed
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ground — the earth

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