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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 124 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: charge · bowl · lash · trunk · stem · chest · wake · cold

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. charge — in control
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. charge — electricity
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. charge — a price
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cold — the Cold War

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