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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 120 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: mark · pitcher · land · fall · trunk · staff · bat · stem

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mark — a trace
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stem — to come from
  6. land — ground
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — to come down
  16. mark — a grade
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. land — a country
  19. staff — a stick
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — the animal
  24. staff — employees

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