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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: pitcher · saw · stem · lean · spring · bark · hand · stand

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spring — the season
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lean — to bend
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stand — to bear
  21. hand — help
  22. spring — of water
  23. lean — thin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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