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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stem — to come from
  3. staff — a stick
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. staff — employees
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — humankind
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stem — a stem cell

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