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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.

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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: prune · bore · fine · chair · chest · pass · stem · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fine — high quality
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. fine — all right
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. squash — to crush
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fine — a penalty

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