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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  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. rush — hurry
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. vault — a safe
  5. land — a country
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. land — to come down
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stem — to come from
  14. land — ground
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bank — for money
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  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