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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — help
  8. foot — a measure
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. last — finally
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. rest — a break
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — to go on
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stem — to come from
  22. season — in sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. sharp — exactly

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