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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. drill — a practice
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. spell — letters
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. can — to be able to
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. season — of the year
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. spell — magic
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. can — a tin
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. drill — the tool
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. can — a tin

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