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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · pit · stem · last · wake · plane · degree · prune

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pit — in a race
  6. mate — a partner
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. last — finally
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — an amount
  13. plane — a tool
  14. last — final
  15. wake — a trail
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. degree — from a university
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. last — to go on
  20. pit — a hole
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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