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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stem — to come from
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. present — a gift
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chip — to eat
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. present — the time now
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chip — for betting
  23. present — there
  24. hide — to keep secret

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