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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stem — to come from
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. season — of the year
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. season — in sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wake — a trail
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. lean — thin
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. lean — to bend

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