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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: mine · prune · jam · stem · club · pitcher

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. club — a group
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. 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