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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: season · content · kick · rest · kid · drill · cold · stem

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. drill — army training
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — of the year
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. content — the amount
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rest — what's left
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. content — happy
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kick — in football
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kid — child
  21. drill — a practice
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rest — a break
  24. stem — of a plant

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