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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chest — a box
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. scale — size or range
  14. club — a group
  15. scale — in music
  16. stem — to come from
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stem — a stem cell

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