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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 116 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. field — a subject
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — of water
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. face — to confront
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. face — to point toward
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — farmland
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. field — for sport
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wake — a trail
  24. face — part of the head

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