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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. last — to go on
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rule — a law
  6. last — final
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — to come from
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cue — for pool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rule — government
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. clip — a video
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bowl — a dish

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