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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. root — of a word
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. root — of a plant
  8. drill — the tool
  9. court — of law
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ball — a great time
  16. root — the cause
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. court — for sport
  19. date — the fruit
  20. drill — army training
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. court — of a king
  24. prune — the fruit

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