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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 116 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. chip — to eat
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. scale — in music
  8. stem — to come from
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. season — of the year
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. scale — size or range
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. court — of law
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — not warm
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chip — for betting
  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