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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bank — for money
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stem — to come from
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bank — for money
  20. cap — a lid
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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