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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 · pitcher · straw · wound · branch · face · game · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. face — to confront
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. branch — a division
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. stem — to come from
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. branch — of a tree

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