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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stem — to come from
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bound — certain
  6. firm — decided
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bound — obliged
  15. kick — in football
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. firm — a company
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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