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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spell — letters
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — to come from

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