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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — to paddle
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. row — a line
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bass — low music
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lie — to recline

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