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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spring — of water
  9. dip — to sink
  10. field — a subject
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bass — low music
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. field — for sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — farmland
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — the season

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