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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stem — to come from
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. game — wild animals
  10. scale — size or range
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — to tire
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. scale — in music
  24. deal — an agreement

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