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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chip — for betting
  3. object — to protest
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. object — a thing
  7. chip — to eat
  8. object — an aim
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. stem — to come from
  12. craft — a skill
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. craft — boats
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bat — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. dip — to sink

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