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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: land · roll · temple · prune · stem · bark · drill · cap

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. land — to come down
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. prune — to trim
  5. roll — a list
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — of ice
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bark — to shout
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cap — a lid
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. drill — the tool
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. drill — army training

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