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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mark — a trace
  23. fall — the season
  24. pound — to hit hard

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