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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.

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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: race · hide · spring · stem · prune · bore · staff · net

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. staff — a stick
  3. race — a contest
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — humankind
  7. bore — to tire
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — the season
  14. bore — to drill
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — of water
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. net — in sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. race — the arms race

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