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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. craft — boats
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. band — a music group
  9. land — to come down
  10. craft — a skill
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. stem — to come from
  14. land — a country
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a ring
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. net — after costs
  20. land — ground
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. date — the fruit
  24. trunk — of a tree

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