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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. court — for sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. squash — the sport
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. court — of law
  15. stem — to come from
  16. court — of a king
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. spring — a coil
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. squash — to crush
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. spring — the season

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