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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. branch — a division
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. season — of the year
  10. date — the fruit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — in sport
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kick — in football
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. capital — money
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. perch — the fish
  24. date — on the calendar

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