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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: snap · field · trunk · mark · pop · stem · row · wave

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mark — a grade
  4. row — a line
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. mark — a trace
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pop — to visit
  16. field — a subject
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. field — for sport
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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