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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.

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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stem · chair · tube · rest · trunk · march · ball · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. ball — a great time
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tube — a container
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. chair — a leader
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. march — the month
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  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