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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: wound · coach · prune · bore · saw · stem · chest · land

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. land — ground
  4. chest — a box
  5. land — a country
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. land — to come down
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chest — of your body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — a trainer
  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