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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — to come down
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. branch — a division
  7. land — a country
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tube — a container
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — a coil
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. land — ground
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spring — the season
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fall — the season
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tube — the underground

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