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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bore — to tire
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bore — to drill
  6. fall — the season
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pop — music
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — soda
  18. stem — to come from

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