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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — to come from
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pound — a weight
  9. root — the cause
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. root — of a plant
  12. last — finally
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — a trail
  16. root — of a word
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. last — final

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