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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 a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. fork — in a road
  3. spring — of water
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. row — a line
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. row — to paddle
  9. stem — to come from
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pit — a hole
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spring — a coil
  20. scale — in music
  21. spring — the season
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. row — a quarrel

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