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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: present · cell · row · fine · stem · current · clip · trunk

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — the time now
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. present — there
  9. clip — a video
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. current — of water
  12. fine — high quality
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. row — to paddle
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fine — all right
  24. row — a line

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