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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pass — a permit
  4. spring — a coil
  5. can — a tin
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pound — a weight
  12. clip — a video
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. can — a tin
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. can — to be able to

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