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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. net — for catching
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chip — for betting
  16. spring — of water
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lean — thin
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. spring — the season
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stem — to come from

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