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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cap — a hat
  8. content — the amount
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ball — a great time
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. season — in sport
  18. lean — thin
  19. cap — a lid
  20. lean — to bend
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. cap — of ice

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