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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stand — to bear
  6. ground — a position
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. ground — crushed
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. chest — of your body
  17. last — final
  18. chest — of your body
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chest — a box
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — exactly

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