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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. perch — the fish
  5. game — a match
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — to go on
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. staff — a stick
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wake — a trail
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — the tool

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