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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. present — a gift
  3. club — for dancing
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. land — a country
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. present — there
  8. can — a tin
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. can — a tin
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. land — ground
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spell — magic
  16. present — the time now
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. can — to be able to
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. spell — letters
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. land — to come down

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