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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. arm — a part of something
  2. content — the amount
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — boats
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. stem — to come from
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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