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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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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cap — a hat
  3. can — to be able to
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. stem — to come from
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — of water
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. spring — a coil
  24. court — of a king

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