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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — a video
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. can — to be able to
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. snap — to click
  16. can — a tin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stem — to come from
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pound — a weight
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pound — for dogs
  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