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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ball — a dance
  7. field — farmland
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. pass — a permit
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — a subject
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. field — for sport
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. stem — a stem cell

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