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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 116 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. spring — of water
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bank — for money
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cell — a phone
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bank — of a river
  21. spring — the season
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wound — an injury

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