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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: bat · bound · stem · prune · fork · saw · shower · trunk

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. stem — of a plant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bound — tied together
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — to come from
  12. shower — to wash
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. shower — rain
  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