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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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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: race · tear · calf · prune · chest · stem

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. tear — to rip
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — of your body
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stem — to come from
  12. prune — to trim
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — a box
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. race — humankind

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