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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 116 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. file — a tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. stem — to come from
  5. key — the most important part
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. file — a document
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — for a lock
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. key — in music
  20. shower — rain
  21. spring — a coil
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chair — a leader

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