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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. stem — to come from
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. hand — help
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — ground
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. prune — to trim
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. prune — the fruit

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