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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. spring — the season
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stem — to come from
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. row — a line
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rock — music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. kick — in football
  24. stem — of a plant

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