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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: bark · court · leaves · trunk · clip · stem · game · track

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. court — of a king
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. track — to keep track
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. track — a song
  18. court — for sport
  19. track — a path
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — a match
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — to come from
  24. leaves — lets stay

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