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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. present — a gift
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. shower — rain
  17. face — to point toward
  18. content — happy
  19. shower — to wash
  20. court — for sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. present — the time now
  23. content — the amount
  24. face — to confront

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