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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 116 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: board · clip · prune · stem · leaves · spring · straw · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. board — to get on
  3. rock — a stone
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. rock — music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — to come from
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — a video
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spring — a coil
  24. leaves — lets stay

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