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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. spring — of water
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cap — of ice
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. saw — the tool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cap — a hat
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spring — the season
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wound — an injury
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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