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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. season — of the year
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rule — government
  9. stock — shares
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pass — a permit
  14. season — in sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. shower — to wash
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. shower — rain
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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