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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitch — completely
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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