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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — the season
  9. chip — to eat
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. content — the amount
  19. spring — of water
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. content — happy

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