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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. stem — to come from
  7. march — the month
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. march — music
  14. snap — to click
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lie — to recline
  21. last — finally
  22. hand — help
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. last — final

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