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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mark — a grade
  12. scale — in music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rash — a series
  15. march — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rash — hasty
  22. dip — to sink
  23. march — the month
  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