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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pit — in a race
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pit — a hole
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. game — wild animals
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — the Cold War

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