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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — to go on
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rule — a law
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. rule — government
  17. last — final
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. last — finally
  24. stem — of a plant

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