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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — happy
  3. stem — to come from
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rock — a stone
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. rock — music
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. land — ground
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — a country
  24. leaves — to go away

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