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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. prune — to trim
  7. staff — a stick
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. can — a tin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. staff — employees
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. season — of the year
  18. can — a tin
  19. degree — temperature
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. can — to be able to
  22. season — in sport
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. prune — to trim

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