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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — a city
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ground — the earth
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. ground — a position
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ground — crushed
  23. capital — money
  24. straw — a straw man

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