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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. land — a country
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. mate — a partner
  12. track — a song
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mate — to breed
  15. game — wild animals
  16. clip — to cut
  17. track — a path
  18. bulb — for light
  19. clip — for paper
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — a video
  22. land — ground
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — to come from

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