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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. hand — help
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. face — to confront
  10. kick — in football
  11. fork — in a road
  12. face — to point toward
  13. current — electric
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. hand — in cards
  16. current — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. face — part of the head
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — to eat with

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