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

Word bank: bound · prune · straw · tear · stem · cell · key · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. tear — from crying
  10. key — in music
  11. bound — tied together
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bound — obliged
  17. stem — to come from
  18. key — the most important part
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. key — for a lock
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bound — certain

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