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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. deal — to handle
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. content — the amount
  7. drill — the tool
  8. game — a match
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. drill — army training
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. stem — to come from
  16. game — wild animals
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. content — happy
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pound — a weight
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cold — not warm

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