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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 116 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 not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rest — a break
  3. present — a gift
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fall — the season
  7. present — there
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pop — music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — to visit
  16. present — the time now
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pit — a hole
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pop — soda
  24. kid — child

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