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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. spell — a short time
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — letters
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mine — for digging
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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