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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. shower — rain
  9. mate — a friend
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — there
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — a position
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mate — a partner
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mate — to breed
  23. present — the time now
  24. stem — of a plant

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