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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. land — to come down
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. object — a thing
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. last — finally
  6. land — ground
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. land — a country
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. last — to go on
  15. clip — a video
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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