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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. swing — in golf
  6. cap — a hat
  7. swing — to play on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cap — of ice
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — of a king
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. court — for sport
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cap — a lid
  19. swing — music
  20. content — happy
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. wake — a trail
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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