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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. present — the time now
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rash — a series
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — a break
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cue — a signal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fall — the season
  19. rest — what's left
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rest — what's left

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