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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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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 · board · bowl · row · cell · spell · trunk · kick

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kick — in football
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spell — letters
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stem — to come from
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spell — magic
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. stem — of a plant

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