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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fall — the season
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. season — of the year
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cap — a hat
  17. season — in sport
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cap — of ice
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cold — an illness
  24. season — to add flavour

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