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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: pound · cell · stem · trunk · last · charge · racket · mine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. charge — a price
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mine — for digging
  6. charge — in control
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. last — final
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stem — to come from
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. last — finally
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. last — to go on
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — in biology
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. charge — electricity

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