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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. root — the cause
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. root — of a plant
  12. land — to come down
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. root — of a word
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. season — in sport
  18. land — ground
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — of the year

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