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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · bark · stem · wound · prune · lean · branch · mate

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — to come from
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. mate — a partner
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bark — to shout
  18. branch — a division
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. lean — thin
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. prune — to trim

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