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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. kid — child
  11. prune — to trim
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — soda
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pop — music
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wake — a trail

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