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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — to come from
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. club — for dancing
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. row — a line
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bat — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. club — for golf
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. club — a group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bat — in an idiom

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