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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: roll · bay · stem · file · chest · spell · bark · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. spell — magic
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. file — a document
  5. bark — to shout
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spell — letters
  8. chest — of your body
  9. roll — a list
  10. chest — a box
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spell — a short time

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