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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rash — a series
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. chest — a box
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. band — a music group

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