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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. ruler — for measuring

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