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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cap — a hat
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chest — a box
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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