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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cap — a lid
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — letters
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. stem — to come from
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. content — the amount
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cap — a hat
  16. content — happy
  17. spell — a short time
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. spell — magic
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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