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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cold — not warm
  6. game — wild animals
  7. plane — a tool
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. cold — an illness
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. game — a match
  24. stem — to come from

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