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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. march — the month
  3. cap — a lid
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pop — soda
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cap — of ice
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pop — to visit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — music
  16. fall — the season
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. march — music
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cap — a hat
  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