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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — high quality
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pop — to visit
  5. staff — employees
  6. fine — all right
  7. game — a match
  8. staff — employees
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pop — soda
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rash — a series
  17. game — wild animals
  18. season — of the year
  19. rash — hasty
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. season — in sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pop — music

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