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

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spell — letters
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stock — goods
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. land — a country
  19. pop — soda
  20. season — in sport
  21. stock — shares
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. land — ground

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