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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: tube · bear · scale · cold · stem · mate · fall · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tube — the underground
  8. scale — size or range
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bear — the animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mate — a partner
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. fall — the season
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. scale — in music

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