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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 water is too ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stem — to come from
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. root — of a word
  11. field — farmland
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. cold — an illness
  15. field — a subject
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — for sport
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. board — a committee
  21. charge — in control
  22. board — to get on
  23. shower — to wash
  24. charge — a price

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