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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. ground — the earth
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — a lid
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cap — of ice
  12. spring — the season
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to click
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. calf — a young animal

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