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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mate — a partner
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. land — ground
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. spell — magic
  17. pitch — completely
  18. spell — letters
  19. land — a country
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — to come down
  24. fork — in a road

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