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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rush — hurry
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kick — in football
  6. pop — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stem — to come from
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pop — soda
  16. face — to confront
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kick — a thrill

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