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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stem — to come from
  4. club — a group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. scale — in music
  18. club — for golf
  19. bulb — for light
  20. club — for dancing
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. prune — to trim

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