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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. net — after costs
  3. stem — to come from
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. sharp — clever
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rule — a law
  10. last — finally
  11. net — for catching
  12. last — to go on
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rule — government
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. ball — a great time
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ball — a dance
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. net — in sport
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. last — final

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