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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rash — hasty
  4. stem — to come from
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rash — a series
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. row — a line
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. root — the cause
  14. row — to paddle
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. deal — to handle
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stem — of a plant

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