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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. prune — to trim
  3. can — to be able to
  4. kid — child
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pop — music
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. can — a tin
  16. press — to push
  17. can — a tin
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pop — soda
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stem — to come from
  23. track — to keep track
  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