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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. file — a document
  13. pit — in a race
  14. file — a tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. craft — boats
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rest — a break
  19. craft — a skill
  20. dip — to sink
  21. file — a line of people
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — not warm

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