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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chest — a box
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. capital — a city
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bore — to tire
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — money
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. prune — the fruit

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