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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — finally
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. land — a country
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — final
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — to come down
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kid — child
  18. suit — in cards
  19. ground — the earth
  20. land — ground
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ground — a position
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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