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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lean — to bend
  4. prune — to trim
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mug — a cup
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rule — government
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stock — goods
  12. mug — a face
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stock — shares
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rule — a law
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stem — to come from
  22. lean — thin
  23. prune — to trim
  24. perch — the fish

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