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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. shower — to wash
  7. capital — a city
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cold — an illness
  12. face — to point toward
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. face — to confront
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — rain
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stem — to come from
  24. cold — not warm

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