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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: spring · lean · prune · firm · ball · field · stem · bat

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. lean — thin
  3. spring — the season
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. firm — decided
  8. prune — to trim
  9. firm — steady
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lean — to bend
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — of water
  18. firm — a company
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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