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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — clever
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spring — the season
  12. track — a path
  13. rule — a law
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rule — government
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. track — a song
  24. sharp — with an edge

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