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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · band · board · current · trunk · root · stem · file

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. stem — to come from
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — a committee
  5. mine — for digging
  6. root — the cause
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. board — to get on
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. root — of a word
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. file — a tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. current — happening now
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a document
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. file — a line of people
  23. current — electric
  24. root — 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