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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. capital — money
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — a gift
  6. cap — a hat
  7. track — a song
  8. cap — a lid
  9. capital — a city
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. swing — to play on
  13. track — to keep track
  14. present — there
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. track — a path
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fall — the season
  21. swing — music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. swing — in golf

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