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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. stem — to come from
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fall — the season
  6. track — a song
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. land — to come down
  10. press — newspapers
  11. fall — to drop
  12. land — a country
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. game — a match
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. press — to push
  19. land — ground
  20. kick — in football
  21. game — wild animals
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. press — a publisher

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