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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. sharp — clever
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mine — for digging
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kick — in football
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. season — in sport
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year

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