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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. degree — an amount
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. last — finally
  16. roll — a list
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stem — to come from
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. last — final
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cold — an illness

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