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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. stem — to come from
  3. club — for golf
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. club — a group
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. club — for dancing
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. tear — from crying

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