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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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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bound — certain
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pass — a permit
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — a line
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — goods
  14. ground — a position
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bound — tied together
  17. stock — shares
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. row — to paddle
  24. hide — to keep secret

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