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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — to come from
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. drill — the tool
  6. object — an aim
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. last — final
  9. drill — a practice
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fine — all right
  12. drill — army training
  13. spring — of water
  14. object — a thing
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. spring — a coil
  20. object — to protest
  21. spring — the season
  22. perch — the fish
  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