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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: trunk · tear · lean · stem · bat · prune · lash · chest

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lean — thin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — a box
  22. stem — to come from
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. lean — to bend

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