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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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468
Word bank
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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lean — thin
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. kid — child
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. kid — to tease
  12. root — of a plant
  13. lean — to bend
  14. swing — in golf
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. swing — music
  18. root — the cause
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stem — of a plant

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