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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. file — a tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spring — a coil
  8. root — of a word
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. last — finally
  11. spring — of water
  12. root — the cause
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a line of people
  17. root — of a plant
  18. last — final
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. chip — for betting
  22. file — a document
  23. spring — the season
  24. last — to go on

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