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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — in cards
  13. prune — to trim
  14. vault — a safe
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. land — to come down
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cap — of ice
  23. hand — help
  24. land — a country

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