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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rule — government
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — of the year
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. shower — rain
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rest — what's left
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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