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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cap — a hat
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cap — of ice
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ground — a position
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. key — for a lock
  18. ground — crushed
  19. file — a tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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