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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. march — music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. prune — to trim

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