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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. row — a line
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. squash — to crush
  13. row — to paddle
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pass — a permit
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. rule — to rule out

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