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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. content — happy
  3. object — to protest
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. content — the amount
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rash — hasty
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bound — certain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — obliged
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. object — an aim
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. object — a thing
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pit — a hole
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rash — a series

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