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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pop — soda
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pop — music
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. squash — to crush
  8. branch — a division
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rush — hurry
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pop — to visit
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stem — to come from
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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