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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — of the year
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. object — an aim
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tube — a container
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. object — a thing
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. object — to protest
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. season — in sport
  24. stem — to come from

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