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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 120 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 · staff · track · content · mine · land · prune · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. land — to come down
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. track — to keep track
  9. staff — a stick
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. staff — employees
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. content — the amount
  16. land — ground
  17. content — happy
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bulb — for light
  21. land — a country
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. staff — employees

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