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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. present — there
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. firm — a company
  7. tear — from crying
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mate — to breed
  11. tear — from crying
  12. plane — a tool
  13. tear — to rip
  14. game — a match
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — steady
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stem — to come from
  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