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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. track — a song
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bear — the animal
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. last — finally
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. land — ground
  15. branch — a division
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. last — to go on
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. land — to come down
  20. bear — the animal
  21. track — a path
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. track — to keep track
  24. branch — of a bank

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