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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 · shower · straw · date · trunk · cue · branch · stem

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. date — the fruit
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cue — for pool
  6. branch — a division
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cue — a signal
  12. land — ground
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stem — to come from
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — rain
  24. date — on the calendar

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