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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. last — final
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. spell — a short time
  6. last — finally
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spell — magic
  10. bass — low music
  11. tube — the underground
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tube — a container
  15. spell — letters
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rash — a series
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bear — the animal
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rash — hasty
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. last — to go on

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