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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mate — a friend
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mate — to breed
  6. foot — a measure
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stem — to come from
  11. game — a match
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bark — to shout
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. foot — part of the body

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