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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. present — a gift
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. staff — employees
  9. rock — a stone
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. prune — to trim
  12. staff — employees
  13. present — the time now
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. band — a music group
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. row — to paddle
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. row — a line
  20. staff — a stick
  21. present — there
  22. stem — to come from
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rock — music

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