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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — a match
  10. mark — a grade
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mark — a trace
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. game — wild animals
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — in a road
  24. stem — a stem cell

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