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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. land — to come down
  3. stem — to come from
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bear — the animal
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bear — the animal
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. game — a match
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stock — shares
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bear — to put up with

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