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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tube — the underground
  6. object — to protest
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. object — an aim
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. firm — decided
  13. row — a line
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — steady
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. object — a thing
  18. hand — in cards
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. stem — of a plant

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