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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. can — a tin
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. land — a country
  7. saw — the tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. land — ground
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. land — to come down
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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