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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: fork · tear · saw · stem · cell · straw · tube · trunk

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — the tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. saw — the tool
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tube — a container
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cell — a phone
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. stem — a stem cell

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