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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. can — a tin
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a lid
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cap — a hat
  15. can — a tin
  16. fine — all right
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chest — of your body
  19. craft — boats
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cap — of ice

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