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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. ball — a dance
  4. field — farmland
  5. cold — not warm
  6. staff — a stick
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. staff — employees
  17. field — a subject
  18. stem — to come from
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. staff — employees
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a great time
  24. sharp — with an edge

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