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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. land — ground
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. land — a country
  8. ground — a position
  9. scale — size or range
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. ground — crushed
  14. scale — in music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. land — to come down
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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