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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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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: chest · trunk · stem · perch · plane · pop · bulb · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pop — soda
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — to visit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pop — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. plane — a tool
  24. kid — child

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