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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 116 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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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: kid · trunk · rush · rash · stem · hand · pop · chair

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pop — music
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pop — soda
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. kid — child
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rush — hurry
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hand — help
  20. rash — a series
  21. chair — a leader
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rush — to hurry

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