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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 120 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: bowl · stock · cold · cue · prune · wound · rash · stem

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — a series
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stock — shares
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stock — goods
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — hasty

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