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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. wake — a trail
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — the season
  5. bass — the fish
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stem — to come from
  14. key — in music
  15. stock — shares
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — of water
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bass — low music
  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