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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. stock — goods
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. season — of the year
  19. key — for a lock
  20. prune — to trim
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. key — in music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stock — shares

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