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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cold — not warm
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stem — to come from
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. fork — in a road
  12. row — a line
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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