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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.

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: key · march · row · stem · prune · game · sharp · coach

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. march — music
  13. game — a match
  14. row — to paddle
  15. key — in music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. march — the month
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. game — wild animals
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. sharp — with an edge

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