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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fine — all right
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — a match
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. last — finally
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — final
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. last — to go on
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. arm — a part of something

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