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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. race — humankind
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. race — a contest
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — a line
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kid — child
  24. row — a quarrel

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