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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rash — hasty
  7. perch — the fish
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. rest — a break
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. content — happy
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to click
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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