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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tube — the underground
  3. chest — a box
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. court — of law
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. file — a document
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. court — for sport
  16. tube — a container
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a tool
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — to come from
  24. court — of a king

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