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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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. craft — boats
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rush — hurry
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a ring
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rush — to hurry

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