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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. land — ground
  4. mate — a friend
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stem — to come from
  7. plane — a tool
  8. mark — a grade
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — money
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a tool
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. land — to come down
  23. mate — to breed
  24. capital — a city

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