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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. fork — in a road
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mug — a cup
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mug — a face
  9. bass — low music
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mug — to rob
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — a city
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — money
  24. cold — the Cold War

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