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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. rock — a stone
  3. land — to come down
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — in sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rock — music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. last — finally
  11. land — ground
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. last — to go on
  14. mine — for digging
  15. last — final
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. land — a country
  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