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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. last — to go on
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. last — final
  7. net — after costs
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. net — for catching
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. season — in sport
  15. press — a publisher
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. season — of the year
  18. press — newspapers
  19. net — in sport
  20. last — finally
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. press — to push

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