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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. capital — money
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. last — final
  7. squash — to crush
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cue — a signal
  12. capital — a city
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — to come from
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — finally
  24. tear — from crying

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