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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. land — ground
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spring — of water
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — child
  12. land — to come down
  13. vault — a safe
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kid — to tease
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. land — a country
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — the season
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. mark — a grade

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