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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — music
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. face — to confront
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cue — for pool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. march — the month
  23. game — a match
  24. shower — rain

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