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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — finally
  3. mug — to rob
  4. clip — a video
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. lean — to bend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lean — thin
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mug — a cup
  17. ground — the earth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mate — a friend
  21. last — final
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. last — to go on

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