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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 120 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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. stem — to come from

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