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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: sharp · trunk · stem · row · mine · field · toast · branch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mine — for digging
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stem — to come from
  5. field — a subject
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. toast — bread
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. row — a line
  11. sharp — clever
  12. field — for sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. row — to paddle
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stem — of a plant

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