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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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Word bank
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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: cold · lie · ball · tear · stem · rule · cabinet · leaves

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. rule — government
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — from crying
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rule — a law
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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