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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. spring — the season
  11. net — for catching
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stand — to bear
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spring — of water
  20. face — to confront
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. stand — for spectators

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