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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: patient · wound · stem · pop · rest · prune · wind · cap

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pop — music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pop — soda
  8. cap — of ice
  9. rest — a break
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wound — an injury
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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