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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: prune · stem · wound · game · cabinet · present · firm · last

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. present — there
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. firm — steady
  10. game — a match
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. firm — decided
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. present — a gift
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. present — the time now
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. firm — a company

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