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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. can — a tin
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. can — a tin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. can — to be able to
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fork — in a road
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. scale — size or range
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. degree — an amount

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