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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: racket · prune · stem · lean · march · fall · plane · chip

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. march — music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lean — thin
  4. chip — to eat
  5. plane — a tool
  6. stem — to come from
  7. lean — to bend
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chip — for betting
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fall — to drop
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. fall — to drop
  20. march — the month
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fall — the season
  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