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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. court — for sport
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. court — of law
  11. mug — to rob
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. court — of a king
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mug — a face
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pass — a permit
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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