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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — to bend
  8. drill — the tool
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. lean — thin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mark — a grade
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. drill — army training
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mark — a trace
  23. drill — a practice
  24. temple — side of the head

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