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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — to come from
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. season — in sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. spell — a short time
  12. mug — to rob
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ground — a position
  15. season — of the year
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spell — magic
  20. race — a contest
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spell — letters
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kick — in football

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