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

Word bank: toast · squash · stem · foot · prune · kid · sharp · mark

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. squash — to crush
  3. kid — to tease
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. foot — a measure
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mark — a trace
  12. toast — bread
  13. mark — a grade
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. squash — the sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. kid — child
  24. sharp — clever

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