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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bore — to tire
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. vault — a safe
  11. capital — a city
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bore — to drill
  16. stem — to come from
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kid — child
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — money
  24. cell — in biology

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