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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. season — in sport
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cell — in biology
  8. craft — boats
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — to grow
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — of the year
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. craft — a skill
  24. stem — of a plant

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