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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: ruler · root · jam · roll · march · cold · stem · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. roll — a list
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. march — the month
  10. root — of a word
  11. cold — an illness
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. root — of a plant
  17. roll — a cake
  18. march — music
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. march — the month
  22. root — the cause
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. hide — to keep secret

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