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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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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: cold · mark · lie · prune · stem · bound · scale · saw

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. scale — in music
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bound — certain
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stem — to come from
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bound — obliged
  19. saw — the tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mark — a grade
  24. lie — to recline

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