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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cap — a lid
  7. stem — to come from
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — from crying
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — from crying

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