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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: tube · squash · face · staff · prune · stem · cold · bass

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bass — the fish
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. stem — to come from
  11. face — to confront
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — an illness
  14. squash — the sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. prune — to trim
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — to crush

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