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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. track — a path
  4. prune — to trim
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. stem — to come from
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of a tree

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