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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — in sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. net — for catching
  8. saw — the tool
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — to trim
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rule — government
  18. board — to get on
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — a committee
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. saw — the tool

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