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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: bound · deal · cold · mark · stem · bank · date · trunk

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bank — of a river
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bank — for money
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bank — for money
  11. stem — to come from
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mark — a trace
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bound — tied together
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. trunk — of a tree

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