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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — an illness
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fine — all right
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — to drop
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — the season
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — not warm
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. hand — help

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