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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. staff — employees
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cap — of ice
  7. shower — rain
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — the month
  10. stem — to come from
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. march — music
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mate — to breed
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. staff — a stick
  21. shower — to wash
  22. staff — employees
  23. mate — a friend
  24. content — the amount

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