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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kid — child
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. foot — a measure
  14. drill — the tool
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — a football final

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