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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. track — a path
  8. mark — a grade
  9. ground — crushed
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. track — a song
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. date — the fruit

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