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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: dip · stem · prune · race · tear · squash · season · wake

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. dip — to sink
  10. race — a contest
  11. prune — to trim
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — to rip
  14. race — the arms race
  15. squash — the sport
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. season — of the year
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. season — in sport
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wake — a trail
  24. squash — to crush

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