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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — final
  4. rush — hurry
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spell — magic
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spell — letters
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. stem — to come from
  19. row — a line
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. tube — a container

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