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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rest — a break
  3. land — ground
  4. craft — a skill
  5. stem — to come from
  6. land — a country
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — the amount
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. land — to come down
  16. content — happy
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. kid — child
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. craft — boats
  24. race — humankind

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