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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stem — to come from
  5. land — a country
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. swing — music
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. shower — rain
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pitch — completely
  20. key — in music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. shower — to wash
  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