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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stem — to come from
  6. court — for sport
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. race — a contest
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cell — in biology
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cell — in a prison

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