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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. suit — in cards
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cap — a hat
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. land — to come down
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. suit — clothes
  14. land — a country
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — a phone
  17. land — ground
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wake — before a funeral

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