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

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fall — the season
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tear — from crying

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