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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — in sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. present — there
  9. foot — a measure
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. present — the time now
  15. squash — to crush
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. season — of the year
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. present — a gift
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. coach — a trainer

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