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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. hand — help
  3. pit — a hole
  4. last — finally
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — in a race
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — final
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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