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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. capital — a city
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. last — finally
  18. rush — hurry
  19. capital — money
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. last — final
  22. saw — the tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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