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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stem — to come from
  4. court — for sport
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — of law
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — in a road
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. content — the amount
  15. court — of a king
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. perch — the fish
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. content — happy
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tube — in a tire

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