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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 water is too ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rest — a break
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — to grow
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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