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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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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: stem · mark · trunk · season · pitch · root

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. 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. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stem — to come from
  9. root — the cause
  10. pitch — completely
  11. root — of a word
  12. season — of the year
  13. root — of a plant
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. 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