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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cap — a lid
  3. toast — bread
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. land — a country
  7. file — a document
  8. rest — a break
  9. land — to come down
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. land — ground
  12. vault — a safe
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cap — a hat
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. file — a tool

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