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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. march — the month
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rash — hasty
  8. march — the month
  9. rash — a series
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — music
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. branch — a division
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. branch — of a bank

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