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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: cold · rule · prune · toast · stem · object · track · cell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. object — to protest
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. track — a song
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — to trim
  12. object — a thing
  13. toast — bread
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in biology
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. object — an aim
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stem — to come from
  24. track — to keep track

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