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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 · wind · capital · shower · prune · bore · present · stick

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. stem — to come from
  3. present — a gift
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — rain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — the time now
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. bore — to drill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. present — there
  21. shower — to wash
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bore — gave birth

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