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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. row — a line
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. club — for golf
  9. season — in sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. sharp — clever
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. season — of the year
  18. stem — of a plant

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