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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — in music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stem — to come from
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. capital — money
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. capital — a city

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