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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — a leader
  3. squash — to crush
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lie — to recline
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — an illness
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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