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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chip — to eat
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cold — not warm
  7. track — a song
  8. cold — an illness
  9. track — a path
  10. staff — employees
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stand — for spectators

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