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

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. land — to come down
  5. mate — a partner
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bound — tied together
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — certain
  16. sharp — clever
  17. land — a country
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stem — to come from
  21. land — ground
  22. mate — a friend
  23. sharp — exactly
  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