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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 120 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. spell — magic
  7. capital — money
  8. key — for a lock
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. capital — a city
  11. key — in music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spell — letters
  15. cap — a hat
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stem — to come from
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. key — the most important part

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