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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — of water
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cell — in biology
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — the season
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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