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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. row — a line
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rule — government
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cold — an illness
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rule — a law
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mark — a trace
  24. row — to paddle

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