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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. hand — help
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mine — for digging
  11. suit — clothes
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — the month
  14. land — to come down
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. suit — in cards
  20. suit — to fit
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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