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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. row — to paddle
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — a break
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — an illness
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — a company
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. firm — steady
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — not warm
  20. content — happy
  21. row — a line
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — the Cold War

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