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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stem — to come from
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. mug — a face
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. march — music
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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