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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: stem · lean · spell · face · chest · prune · land · hand

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. hand — help
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. land — a country
  10. face — to confront
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chest — a box
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — ground
  17. chest — of your body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — letters
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stem — a stem cell

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