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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. season — in sport
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cap — a hat
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitch — completely
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stock — shares
  19. lie — to recline
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. sharp — exactly

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