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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 120 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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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 · fan · band · stem · race · face

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. face — to confront
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a ring
  10. face — part of the head
  11. band — a music group
  12. race — the arms race
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — a contest
  15. face — to point toward
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. race — humankind

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