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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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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: fall · stem · mine · leaves · trunk · tube · rest · kid

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fall — the season
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. rest — a break
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. tube — the underground
  22. kid — child
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stem — to come from

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