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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mate — a partner
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mate — a friend
  15. staff — employees
  16. row — a line
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — happy
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — to breed
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. row — to paddle

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