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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — to come from
  5. land — to come down
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. staff — employees
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mark — a grade
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — a subject
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. last — finally
  16. land — ground
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. mark — a trace
  21. last — to go on
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. staff — a stick

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