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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cap — a lid
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stem — to come from
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. squash — to crush
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. row — a line
  21. cap — of ice
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. row — to paddle
  24. squash — the vegetable

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