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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: mine · trunk · lie · field · band · stem · net · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. field — farmland
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. net — in sport
  6. field — for sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lie — to recline
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a ring
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. can — a tin
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — a subject
  21. can — a tin
  22. band — a music group
  23. net — after costs
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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