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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — a city
  17. kid — child
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. stem — to come from
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. kid — to tease

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