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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spring — a coil
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pop — to visit
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. spring — the season
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mark — a grade
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tube — a container
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — of water
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. pop — music

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