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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 124 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. net — in sport
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stem — to come from
  7. net — after costs
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mug — a face
  14. root — of a word
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. spell — magic
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mug — a cup
  20. root — of a plant
  21. net — for catching
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. root — the cause
  24. spell — a short time

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