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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. capital — a city
  6. cap — a hat
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. fall — the season
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cap — of ice
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fall — to drop
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. bowl — a football final

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