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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. staff — a stick
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — of ice
  5. face — to confront
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. staff — employees
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. staff — employees
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cap — a lid
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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