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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — a position
  4. last — finally
  5. stock — shares
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ground — crushed
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. row — to paddle
  19. last — to go on
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. row — a line
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stock — goods
  24. leaves — of a tree

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