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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. land — to come down
  9. kick — in football
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — for sport
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. land — a country
  17. court — of a king
  18. land — ground
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. march — the month
  21. plane — a tool
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. court — of law

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