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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. swing — in golf
  4. court — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — hasty
  7. court — of law
  8. stem — to come from
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. court — of a king
  11. swing — music
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. prune — to trim
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. sharp — clever
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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