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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bank — for money
  3. can — to be able to
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bank — for money
  11. can — a tin
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bank — of a river
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bulb — for light
  20. can — a tin
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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