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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stem — to come from
  9. current — of water
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — a gift
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pound — a weight
  17. present — there
  18. season — in sport
  19. cap — a hat
  20. kid — child
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. present — the time now

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