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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mate — a friend
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. last — final
  6. stem — to come from
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. last — to go on
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. last — finally
  14. land — a country
  15. mate — to breed
  16. land — ground
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — in sport
  21. mate — a partner
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. season — to add flavour

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