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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. march — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. march — the month
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ball — a great time
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. stem — to come from
  11. capital — money
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — of ice
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. march — the month
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. press — a publisher
  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