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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 120 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 are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. perch — the fish
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stock — goods
  12. wake — a trail
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. ball — a dance
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stock — shares
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. perch — for a bird

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