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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: perch · pound · rule · board · pass · stem · cold · prune

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. board — to get on
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. board — a committee
  9. rule — a law
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rule — government
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pass — a permit
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — not warm
  21. prune — to trim
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cold — the Cold War

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