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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spring — of water
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stem — to come from
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. land — ground
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. lie — to recline

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