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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: toast · stem · track · shower · saw · cap · fine · prune

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cap — of ice
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cap — a lid
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. track — a path
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. track — to keep track
  10. saw — the tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — rain
  14. toast — bread
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fine — high quality
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — a hat
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. track — a song
  22. fine — all right
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. stem — to come from

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