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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. object — an aim
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a grade
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stand — to bear
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kick — in football

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