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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. toast — bread
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. fall — the season
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. ground — a position
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ground — the earth

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