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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fall — the season
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — to rip
  6. march — music
  7. cap — of ice
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. march — the month
  13. stem — to come from
  14. march — the month
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cell — a phone

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