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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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. stem — a stem cell
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. court — for sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — low music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bass — the fish

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