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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chip — for betting
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fine — all right
  8. chip — to eat
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. land — a country
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. mine — an explosive

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