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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cue — a hint
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. last — to go on
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cue — a signal
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. ground — the earth
  12. clip — a video
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. foot — a measure
  15. last — finally
  16. stem — to come from
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. last — final
  22. cue — for pool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. temple — a place of worship

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