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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spell — a short time
  5. current — electric
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. can — to be able to
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. current — of water
  11. kick — in football
  12. current — happening now
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. can — a tin
  17. squash — to crush
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stem — to come from
  20. spell — letters
  21. can — a tin
  22. spell — magic
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cold — an illness

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