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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rash — a series
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. track — a path
  14. pit — in a race
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. track — a song
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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