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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 116 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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. present — there
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lean — to bend
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. season — of the year
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — the animal
  19. present — a gift
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. present — the time now
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stem — a stem cell

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