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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. hand — help
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. game — a match
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bound — certain
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — part of the body

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