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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: stem · race · wake · chest · staff · prune · bore · roll

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chest — of your body
  4. race — the arms race
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. roll — a list
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chest — a box
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. race — a contest
  13. staff — a stick
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wake — a trail
  20. race — humankind
  21. staff — employees
  22. bore — to tire
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stem — a stem cell

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