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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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. stock — a soup base
  4. stem — to come from
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. scale — size or range
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spring — of water
  15. deal — to handle
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. present — the time now
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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