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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. wake — a trail
  5. pop — music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pop — to visit
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stem — to come from
  20. band — a music group
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. pop — soda
  24. prune — to trim

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