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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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wake — a trail
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — humankind
  9. mug — a face
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mug — a cup
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. key — the most important part
  14. field — for sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fork — in a road
  24. race — a contest

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