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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. prune — to trim
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — in biology
  5. club — a group
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. race — a contest
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. club — for golf
  16. ball — a great time
  17. spring — the season
  18. race — humankind
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ground — a position
  23. race — the arms race
  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