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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — to come from
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — a contest
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. craft — boats
  13. kid — child
  14. craft — a skill
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. spring — a coil
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. lash — an eyelash

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