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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a hat
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. current — happening now
  10. pop — to visit
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pop — music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cap — of ice
  16. current — of water
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. current — electric
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — for betting
  24. stem — a stem cell

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