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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. last — finally
  4. cap — of ice
  5. game — wild animals
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. row — a line
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pop — soda
  15. cap — a lid
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bass — low music
  20. last — final
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pop — music
  24. stem — to come from

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