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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: kid · mate · rush · cabinet · stem · band · trunk · row

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. row — to paddle
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. band — a ring
  14. rush — hurry
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. kid — child
  24. row — a line

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