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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — thin
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. prune — to trim
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bark — to shout
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. squash — to crush
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. march — music
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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