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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · bat · bay · scale · land · calf · trunk · court

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — to come down
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. land — ground
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stem — to come from
  14. court — of law
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. scale — in music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. court — of a king
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. court — for sport
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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