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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stock — goods
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pop — music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. can — a tin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — soda
  24. lie — an untruth

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