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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wake — a trail
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stem — to come from
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chip — for betting
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — to trim

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