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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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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: land · bulb · mark · chest · court · trunk · track · branch

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. track — a song
  4. chest — a box
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. chest — of your body
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mark — a trace
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. mark — a grade
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. track — to keep track
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — a division
  20. track — a path
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. land — to come down

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