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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stem — to come from
  12. kick — in football
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. plane — a tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. season — of the year
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. season — in sport
  24. wind — moving air

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