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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · stem · press · cold · sharp · file · lash · bank

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bank — for money
  4. cold — not warm
  5. file — a document
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. press — to push
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. press — a publisher
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stem — to come from
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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