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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. clip — to cut
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. chip — for betting
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ball — a great time
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. race — a contest
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chip — to eat
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — a video

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