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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: staff · prune · wax · fork · bank · bound · stem · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — for money
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. staff — employees
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bound — certain
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stem — to come from

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