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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. date — the fruit
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chest — a box
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ground — the earth
  21. root — of a word
  22. stem — to come from
  23. root — of a plant
  24. chest — of your body

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