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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: trunk · wax · game · last · land · swing · saw · stem

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — a country
  7. last — final
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. land — to come down
  10. stem — to come from
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — wild animals
  17. swing — to play on
  18. land — ground
  19. game — a match
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. stem — of a plant

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