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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. squash — to crush
  4. season — of the year
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — to come from
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cap — a hat
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. season — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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