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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. kid — child
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stem — to come from
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. capital — a city
  9. march — music
  10. pitch — completely
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. prune — to trim
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. fall — the season
  24. stem — of a plant

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