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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. march — the month
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — in a race
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tube — the underground
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — a hole
  11. march — music
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ground — a position
  15. face — to point toward
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ground — the earth
  20. face — to confront
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tube — a container
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — of a plant

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