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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. ground — a position
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. lie — to recline
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lean — thin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stem — to come from

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