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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: stem · mate · cold · chest · chair · lash · land · dip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — a country
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mate — a partner
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. land — to come down
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chest — a box
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mate — a friend

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