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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. perch — the fish
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. swing — music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. ground — a position
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spell — magic
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — a short time
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — crushed
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. spell — letters
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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