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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. lean — thin
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. prune — the fruit

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