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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mark — a grade
  4. track — a path
  5. land — a country
  6. mark — a trace
  7. capital — a city
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cap — a lid
  13. kick — in football
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. track — a song
  16. land — ground
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — money
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stem — to come from
  24. land — to come down

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