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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: row · march · chair · prune · wound · season · rock · stem

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — the month
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rock — a stone
  6. season — of the year
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. march — the month
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. march — music
  18. row — a line
  19. prune — to trim
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wound — an injury
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stem — to come from

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