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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. charge — in control
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. charge — electricity
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. charge — a price
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. degree — an amount

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