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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cue — a signal
  6. kid — child
  7. track — a path
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. face — part of the head
  17. track — a song
  18. season — in sport
  19. cue — for pool
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. season — of the year
  23. kid — to tease
  24. track — to keep track

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