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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 116 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 · present · last · face · trunk · content · stand · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. club — for golf
  4. present — a gift
  5. last — final
  6. face — to point toward
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. present — there
  9. club — a group
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. content — the amount
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. present — the time now
  16. face — to confront
  17. stand — to bear
  18. face — part of the head
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. last — to go on
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stem — to come from
  23. content — happy
  24. last — finally

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