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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ground — a position
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — crushed
  9. root — of a plant
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mug — a face
  12. foot — a measure
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mug — a cup
  16. kid — child
  17. root — of a word
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. ground — the earth
  21. net — after costs
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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