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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. hand — help
  11. field — for sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — farmland
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. can — a tin
  17. stem — to come from
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — a subject
  21. stand — to bear
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — temperature

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