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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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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: prune · saw · capital · shower · stem · leaves · foot · kid

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kid — to tease
  4. saw — the tool
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. foot — a measure
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — child
  9. capital — a city
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. shower — rain
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. saw — the tool
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. capital — money
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. prune — to trim

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