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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rock — a stone
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rock — music
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kid — to tease
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — temperature
  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