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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. spring — the season
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cell — a phone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. pit — in a race
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. stem — to come from

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