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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. degree — an amount
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. last — to go on
  7. net — after costs
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — finally
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. board — a committee
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. staff — employees
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. last — final
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — a stem cell

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