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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: bass · trunk · kick · bat · tear · cell · stem · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. board — to get on
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — a committee
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kick — in football
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — to rip

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