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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · date · fall · staff · sharp · season · tube · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. tube — a container
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. season — of the year
  9. staff — employees
  10. season — in sport
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — a stick
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. date — the fruit
  18. staff — employees
  19. sharp — clever
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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