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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: row · content · mine · stem · prune · mate · cue · scale

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — in music
  4. content — the amount
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mate — a partner
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cue — a hint
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — to paddle
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cue — for pool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cue — a signal
  24. row — a line

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