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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 · stem · race · ground · cold · season · leaves · court

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. ground — the earth
  3. court — for sport
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. race — the arms race
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. race — a contest
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. race — humankind
  12. court — of law
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. season — of the year
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. cold — not warm
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. court — of a king
  23. ground — crushed
  24. trunk — of a car

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