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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fall — the season
  6. land — a country
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bore — to tire
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fall — to drop
  11. board — a committee
  12. cap — a lid
  13. file — a document
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — a phone
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. land — to come down
  21. cap — of ice
  22. board — to get on
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cap — a hat

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