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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. court — for sport
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stem — to come from
  6. court — of law
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. scale — in music
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. court — of a king
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lean — thin
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stem — a stem cell

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