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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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Word bank
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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. land — a country
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stem — to come from
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. dip — to sink
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. land — ground
  19. race — humankind
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. sharp — clever

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