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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 116 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. charge — in control
  6. bear — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cell — a phone
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bear — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. charge — a price
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  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