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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. file — a tool
  6. content — the amount
  7. bore — to tire
  8. press — a publisher
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bore — to drill
  11. press — to push
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — happy
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a partner
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mate — a friend
  19. sharp — clever
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a line of people
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. press — newspapers
  24. file — a document

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