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

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — in sport
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. mark — a grade
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — of the year
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. mark — a trace
  12. stem — to come from
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — a measure
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stem — of a plant

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