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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. last — finally
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. last — final
  14. capital — money
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — a line
  22. ball — a dance
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. last — to go on

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