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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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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: cold · pound · prune · coach · board · stem · wound · cell

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — a weight
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. board — a committee
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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