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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spell — a short time
  4. capital — money
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kick — in football
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spell — magic
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. season — of the year
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — letters
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. capital — a city
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kick — a thrill

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