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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fine — all right
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chest — a box
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fine — high quality
  14. field — farmland
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. can — a tin
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. can — to be able to
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. can — a tin

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