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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: game · stem · band · root · mine · racket · current · trunk

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. root — the cause
  7. game — a match
  8. current — happening now
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. mine — for digging
  13. root — of a plant
  14. current — electric
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. current — of water
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. root — of a word
  20. band — a ring
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. trunk — of a car
  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