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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: land · sharp · prune · trunk · stem · cap · march · squash

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. land — ground
  4. stem — to come from
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cap — a lid
  10. squash — the sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cap — of ice
  13. march — music
  14. squash — to crush
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cap — a hat
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. march — the month
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. march — the month

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