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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. object — an aim
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fork — in a road
  9. object — to protest
  10. shower — rain
  11. cap — of ice
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. lean — to bend
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lean — thin
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. object — a thing
  24. cell — in biology

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