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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 120 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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — a position
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. drill — the tool
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stem — to come from
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ground — the earth
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. prune — to trim
  20. drill — army training
  21. ground — crushed
  22. plane — a tool
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lie — an untruth

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