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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — shares
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kick — in football
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. hand — help
  12. date — the fruit
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — goods
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. last — to go on
  21. field — a subject
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. kick — with a leg

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