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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spring — of water
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — happy
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. content — the amount
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — the fish
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stem — to come from
  24. spring — the season

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