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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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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. staff — a stick
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. staff — employees
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. march — music
  18. prune — the fruit

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