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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kick — in football
  3. march — the month
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — music
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — for sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — to come from
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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