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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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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: nail · prune · wind · bear · pitcher · club · spring · stem

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spring — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bear — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for golf
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bear — the animal
  24. nail — on a finger

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