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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. clip — a video
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. clip — for paper
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wind — moving air
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. row — a line
  23. stem — to come from
  24. row — to paddle

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