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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — of a king
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wound — an injury
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. court — for sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. stem — to come from
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — money
  19. court — of law
  20. capital — a city
  21. wound — an injury
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. stem — of a plant

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