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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: bound · snap · prune · fan · march · net · chest · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — a box
  4. bound — obliged
  5. snap — to click
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. net — in sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chest — of your body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — tied together
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. net — for catching
  18. prune — to trim
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bound — certain
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. prune — the fruit

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