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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stock — shares
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. file — a document
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. stock — goods
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bass — low music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. stem — to come from

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