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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 124 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cue — a hint
  3. land — a country
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lean — thin
  6. toast — bread
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. tear — to rip
  17. land — to come down
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. cold — an illness
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. land — ground
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tear — from crying
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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