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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: land · root · lean · trunk · game · rule · stem · fall

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. land — ground
  3. rule — a law
  4. root — of a word
  5. fall — the season
  6. game — a match
  7. root — the cause
  8. stem — to come from
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. root — of a plant
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. lean — thin
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. lean — to bend
  19. land — to come down
  20. fall — to drop
  21. game — wild animals
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rule — government
  24. land — a country

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