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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 116 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — to tease
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. kid — child
  12. stem — to come from
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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