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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · stem · trunk · straw · track · fan · season · land

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. season — of the year
  14. land — to come down
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. track — a path
  17. stem — to come from
  18. track — a song
  19. land — ground
  20. season — in sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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