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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 124 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cap — a lid
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. chest — of your body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chest — a box
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chair — a leader
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — of ice
  19. spring — a coil
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chest — of your body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chair — a professorship

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