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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. stem — to come from
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fine — all right
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. face — to confront
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a hat
  24. fine — high quality

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