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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. staff — employees
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — of the year
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spring — of water
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — the sport
  20. season — in sport
  21. staff — a stick
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spring — the season
  24. season — to add flavour

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