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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. face — to confront
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lean — to bend
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. lean — thin
  23. ball — a great time
  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