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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — of your body
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — music
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chest — a box
  11. season — in sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stem — to come from
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — in golf
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. season — of the year

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