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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. clip — a video
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. season — of the year
  11. pound — a weight
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lean — to bend
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hand — help
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lean — thin
  23. season — in 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