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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: arm · prune · hand · spring · stem · patient · swing · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stem — to come from
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. spring — a coil
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hand — in cards
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — help
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. swing — music
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — to play on
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. spring — of water

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