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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — the earth
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. rock — a stone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ground — crushed
  11. toast — bread
  12. chest — a box
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. rock — music
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chest — of your body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. plane — a tool
  24. ground — a position

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