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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: stem · rule · chest · bay · arm · pitcher · prune · court

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — for sport
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — of a king
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rule — government
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of law
  22. rule — a law
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. stem — to come from

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