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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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Word bank
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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: sharp · pass · tube · board · tear · trunk · kid · stem

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tube — the underground
  9. board — to get on
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. stem — to come from
  12. board — a committee
  13. pass — a permit
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pass — to spend time

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