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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: leaves · charge · clip · trunk · ruler · rush · mine · stem

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. charge — a price
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. charge — in control
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — a video
  14. charge — electricity
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stem — to come from
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. ruler — for measuring

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