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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bore — to tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fall — the season
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. prune — to trim
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stem — to come from
  21. face — to confront
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ground — a position
  24. face — part of the head

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