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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stem · press · trunk · ball · date · mine · chip · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. ball — a dance
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. date — the fruit
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. press — newspapers
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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