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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. game — wild animals
  3. shower — rain
  4. cell — in biology
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. dip — to sink
  19. game — a match
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bowl — to roll

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