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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cue — for pool
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a city
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. capital — money
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cue — a hint
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mark — a trace
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stem — to come from
  23. branch — a division
  24. mark — to pay attention

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