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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: jam · cold · rule · deal · hide · stem

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rule — a law
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rule — government
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. jam — in traffic

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