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

Word bank: lie · court · stem · cap · bore · ground · cold · kid

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kid — child
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ground — the earth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. ground — a position
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. court — of law
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — a hat
  15. court — for sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. court — of a king
  20. bore — to drill
  21. cap — a lid
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bore — to tire
  24. ground — crushed

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