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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — a box
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mark — a trace
  9. ground — a position
  10. stem — to come from
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ground — the earth
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

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