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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. spring — of water
  3. rash — a series
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. spring — a coil
  13. foot — a measure
  14. track — a path
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spring — the season
  18. track — a song
  19. mug — to rob
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cold — not warm

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