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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. can — a tin
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — tied together
  12. stem — to come from
  13. clip — a video
  14. bound — certain
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. clip — to cut
  22. roll — a list
  23. bound — obliged
  24. roll — a cake

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