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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. land — to come down
  8. bulb — for light
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — final
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — child
  20. stem — to come from
  21. kid — to tease
  22. land — a country
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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