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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. game — a match
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — final
  8. mine — for digging
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. present — there
  13. last — finally
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. stem — to come from
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. present — the time now
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. last — to go on
  24. wave — of the sea

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