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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 · track · wound · cue · prune · spring · trunk · bat

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cue — a hint
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cue — a signal
  5. track — a path
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spring — of water
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. track — to keep track
  21. stem — to come from
  22. track — a song
  23. spring — the season
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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