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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. court — for sport
  3. last — finally
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. present — there
  8. scale — size or range
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. cold — not warm
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. stem — to come from
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cold — an illness
  17. last — to go on
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. present — the time now
  22. rush — hurry
  23. last — final
  24. trunk — of a tree

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