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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. staff — a stick
  5. can — a tin
  6. prune — to trim
  7. can — a tin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. row — a line
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. charge — electricity
  15. can — to be able to
  16. charge — a price
  17. mine — for digging
  18. charge — in control
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — to paddle
  24. staff — employees

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