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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pass — a permit
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cap — of ice
  11. drill — army training
  12. ball — a great time
  13. march — music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. tube — a container
  16. cap — a hat
  17. drill — the tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. stem — to come from
  24. march — the month

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