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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chair · stem · jam · hide · row · drill · prune

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. drill — the tool
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a line
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stem — to come from
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. drill — army training
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. row — to paddle
  24. drill — a practice

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