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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — help
  4. scale — in music
  5. file — a tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. charge — electricity
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rash — a series
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. charge — in control
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. charge — a price
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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