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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pass — a permit
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lie — to recline
  10. board — a committee
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — an amount
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spring — the season
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spring — a coil
  24. board — to get on

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