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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — a series
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rash — hasty
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stem — to come from
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. clip — to cut
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — a video
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stock — goods
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — an illness

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