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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — finally
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pit — in a race
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pit — a hole
  15. sharp — clever
  16. last — final
  17. stem — to come from
  18. game — a match
  19. last — to go on
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  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