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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. last — final
  4. land — to come down
  5. dip — to sink
  6. branch — a division
  7. last — finally
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stem — to come from
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mate — a partner
  12. land — a country
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mate — a friend
  20. land — ground
  21. bore — to tire
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. kick — in football
  24. branch — of a bank

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