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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 water is too ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stem — to come from
  7. can — a tin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. can — a tin
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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