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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — music
  4. spell — letters
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stock — shares
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spell — a short time
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pop — soda
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pop — to visit
  24. stock — goods

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