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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: clip · prune · rock · current · tear · cell · stem · lash

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. stem — to come from
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rock — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. clip — a video
  17. tear — to rip
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. clip — for paper
  23. current — of water
  24. clip — to cut

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