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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. deal — to handle
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. staff — employees
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mine — for digging
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. ruler — for measuring

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