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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stem — to come from
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. ground — a position
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. sharp — clever
  8. band — a ring
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a music group
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spell — a short time
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — magic
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spell — letters
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ground — the earth
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. foot — a measure

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