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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. season — of the year
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bear — the animal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. season — in sport
  23. bear — the animal
  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