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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. drill — army training
  13. chest — a box
  14. net — for catching
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. net — after costs
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — a position
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — in sport

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