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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bear — to put up with

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