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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: date · capital · prune · field · arm · fall · band · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — farmland
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. capital — a city
  10. field — for sport
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — a subject
  21. fall — the season
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. capital — money

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