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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spring — of water
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. cold — an illness
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. face — part of the head
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spring — the season
  19. can — a tin
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — not warm

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