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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rest — what's left
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fork — in a road
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — a break
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bass — the fish
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bass — low music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — not warm
  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