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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. prune — to trim
  6. staff — employees
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. season — of the year
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. root — the cause
  13. staff — a stick
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. track — a song
  17. season — in sport
  18. root — of a word
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. root — of a plant
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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