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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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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: land · stem · prune · nail · fan · wake · tear · band

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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 — of a plant
  2. land — to come down
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wake — a trail
  6. tear — from crying
  7. band — a music group
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  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