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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spell — magic
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. spell — letters
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mark — a trace
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pit — a hole
  24. stem — to come from

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