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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. current — of water
  9. chair — a leader
  10. current — electric
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. current — happening now
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. chest — a box
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rest — what's left

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