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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. last — final
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. object — to protest
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. last — to go on
  13. ball — a dance
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. sharp — clever
  19. object — an aim
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. object — a thing
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — finally

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