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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 water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stem — to come from
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mug — a cup
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mug — a face
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — money
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bulb — for light
  16. swing — music
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cold — an illness
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. capital — a city
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. swing — in golf
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bulb — of a plant

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