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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: stem · prune · fork · pit · spell · board · nail · cold

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spell — magic
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. board — to get on
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. spell — letters
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pit — a hole
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. board — a committee
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pit — in a race

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