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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. club — a group
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. club — for golf
  14. wake — a trail
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. season — of the year
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. stem — to come from

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