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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: ground · kid · row · trunk · stem · prune · kick · present

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kid — to tease
  8. row — a line
  9. present — a gift
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ground — a position
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — child
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. prune — to trim
  24. trunk — of a tree

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