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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — steady
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. row — a line
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. date — the fruit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cold — an illness
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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