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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cap — a lid
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. march — music
  18. cap — a hat
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. march — the month
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mine — an explosive
  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