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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: row · wound · stem · prune · jam · racket · hide · kid

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. kid — to tease

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