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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: capital · chip · track · stem · mine · racket · present · trunk

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. track — to keep track
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. track — a path
  12. present — there
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. capital — a city
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — money
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. track — a song
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — for betting

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