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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · trunk · fork · foot · wax · chip · wind · stem

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. foot — a measure
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. stem — to come from
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wind — to turn a key

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