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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 116 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. last — to go on
  4. pit — a hole
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. object — a thing
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. object — to protest
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. object — an aim
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pit — in a race
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. last — final
  16. mine — for digging
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. last — finally

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