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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. mate — a friend
  9. game — a match
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. can — a tin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kid — to tease
  14. can — a tin
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. kid — child
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. kick — in football

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