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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 124 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. last — to go on
  4. game — a match
  5. ball — a great time
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. season — in sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. foot — a measure
  12. game — wild animals
  13. clip — a video
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. last — finally
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stem — to come from
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. season — of the year
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. clip — to cut
  24. last — final

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