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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: field · cap · lash · saw · stem · chip · prune · band

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. band — a music group
  4. saw — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stem — to come from
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cap — a hat
  20. band — a ring
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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