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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fine — all right
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. scale — size or range
  12. capital — money
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. root — the cause
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fine — high quality
  23. capital — a city
  24. root — of a word

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