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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — a measure
  8. current — happening now
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. current — electric
  15. season — of the year
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stem — to come from
  20. season — in sport
  21. current — of water
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. roll — a list
  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