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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lean — thin
  4. vault — a safe
  5. lean — to bend
  6. track — a path
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mate — a partner
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a friend
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — to paddle
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. track — a song
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. mate — to breed
  24. row — a line

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