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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.

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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 · fall · kid · trunk · current · row · wound · bear

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — child
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fall — to drop
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. current — happening now
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wound — an injury
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. row — a line
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fall — the season
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. kid — to tease

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