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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. cap — a lid
  6. track — to keep track
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. date — the fruit
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — the season
  13. track — a song
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. club — for golf
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. spring — a coil
  19. net — for catching
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — of water
  22. track — a path
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. date — on the calendar

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