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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. craft — boats
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. game — wild animals
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — to go on
  11. stem — to come from
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. last — final
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. last — finally
  17. rule — government
  18. branch — a division
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rule — a law
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. season — in sport
  24. craft — a skill

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