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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. row — a line
  5. season — in sport
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — a short time
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spell — letters
  10. current — of water
  11. game — a match
  12. current — happening now
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. fine — high quality
  15. season — of the year
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. current — electric
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — wild animals
  24. row — to paddle

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