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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 were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — magic
  5. season — of the year
  6. rock — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spell — letters
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — in sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — a short time
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. stem — to come from

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