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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. chip — to eat
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. chip — for betting
  9. face — to confront
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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