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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mug — a cup
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. lean — to bend
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pass — a permit
  11. spell — magic
  12. lean — thin
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mug — to rob
  15. stem — to come from
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — the season
  21. mug — a face
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. date — the fruit
  24. lean — to rest against

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