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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mark — a grade
  4. land — to come down
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. kid — to tease
  8. net — after costs
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. land — ground
  21. mark — a trace
  22. land — a country
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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