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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: last · season · mate · tear · bay · trunk · mine · stem

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. last — final
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tear — from crying
  16. season — of the year
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. season — in sport
  22. mate — to breed
  23. last — finally
  24. tear — to rip

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