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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. lash — an eyelash
  2. rest — a break
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stem — to come from
  6. land — ground
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. content — the amount
  12. rest — what's left
  13. saw — the tool
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. content — happy
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — the animal
  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