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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 120 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: stick · net · stem · cold · season · rash · ball · wind

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. season — in sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — of the year
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — a series
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. net — after costs
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. net — in sport

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