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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 · staff · sharp · last · kid · season · deal · stem

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. last — finally
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. staff — employees
  5. season — in sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kid — to tease
  9. staff — a stick
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — to come from
  14. season — of the year
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kid — child
  19. deal — to handle
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — an illness
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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