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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: pop · saw · trunk · file · ball · ground · stem · rule

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rule — government
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a document
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rule — a law
  10. ball — a dance
  11. pop — soda
  12. file — a tool
  13. ball — a great time
  14. file — a line of people
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ground — the earth
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stem — to come from
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pop — music
  24. ground — a position

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