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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: stem · pound · spell · trunk · branch · tear · court · can

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. can — to be able to
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. can — a tin
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of law
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stem — to come from
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. can — a tin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pound — a weight
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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