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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: stock · trunk · stem · last · spring · hand · rule · present

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. last — final
  5. stock — goods
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rule — a law
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spring — the season
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. last — to go on
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. last — finally
  14. rule — government
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. present — there
  17. spring — of water
  18. stock — shares
  19. present — the time now
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. spring — a coil
  24. present — a gift

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