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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. present — there
  5. craft — a skill
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. foot — a measure
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. present — the time now
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. present — a gift
  13. cell — in biology
  14. shower — to wash
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. row — to paddle
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. craft — boats
  21. lean — thin
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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