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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: trunk · pitch · perch · plane · spring · ground · leaves · stem

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ground — a position
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ground — the earth
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spring — the season
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. perch — the fish
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

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