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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. root — the cause
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — final
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bank — for money
  9. game — a match
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. root — of a plant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cold — an illness
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. root — of a word
  19. bank — of a river
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. last — finally
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. last — to go on
  24. game — wild animals

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